Attention: Generation X and their villians, as well as any other mutant
mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character
Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to
anything copyrighted is a chance happening. All movies mentioned are
not property of Mojo, but property of their producing studios.
====================================================
That Is What It Is All About
She watched as Mojo ranted about the ratings. Ever since he had
captured and enslaved her, Abcissa watched as Mojo regain his power.
Ratings were everything to him, and she was just a tool to get more
ratings. He had put her in his pet projects, but he hadn't gone to
extremes yet. Soon, she noticed that something had caught his eyes.
She felt him tug on her chain and said, "Come Abcissa. You might be
interested in this."
She rolled over on her skates and looked at the screen. It was
one of Mojo's spy satellites that watched the various X-Men, but this
group wasn't the X-Men. No one was familiar, and then she saw one
figure. It was her, but free. She envied and hated that figure. She
had been able to dodge enslavement. As what appeared to be a fight
continued, she looked at her master and said, "Who are they?"
His maniacal smile told her that he saw a huge ratings potential.
He just said to her, "From what I can gather, they are called Generation
X. Mostly teenagers, but a few are early 20's. And the one with the
sword could give us a few good shows." She noticed the one he meant.
She noticed that the sword glowed with a fire around it. Before she
could ask how it did that, Mojo said, "Abcissa, I have a task for you."
She nodded and said, "I'm ready to do as you ask, sir." She had
accepted her fate, and now she hated any version of her that had broken
free. This version had to be taken care of.
She felt his gaze upon her and said, "I want you to capture
Generation X. The ratings they bring in will be more than the X-Babies.
Call on Spiral to do the transporting when you are done. If you fail, I
may be forced to go for the cheap ratings grabber." She shuddered and
turned to roll over to Spiral. As she rolled over to the six armed
mutant, she heard Mojo say, "Spiral, get her into costume. She needs to
look more like Jubilee than she ever did." She saw Spiral nod and she
followed off to her task at hand. If Abcissa could have her way, she
would just off this other Jubilee, but she knew that Mojo wanted all of
Generation X alive.
***************************************
Jubilee continued fighting off the holographic creatures that the
new danger room produced. This was one of the new changes that had
started two months ago. It was a shock to both her and Everett, as well
as the others, when they heard that Monet was gone. She was partially
upset, since she still didn't care for Monet, but they had been making
peace. To hear that Claudette had taken over meant a whole new group of
enemies, and more training sessions than normal. She was stuck in that
thought when she heard Penny say, "Jubilee, look out!."
Jubilee spun and shot plasma bursts in the face of her oncoming
attacker. Emma and Sean felt that they should go up against movie
characters from horror films. This one seemed the least dangerous. As
the bursts knocked the guy back, she shouted, "Eat hot plasma,
beanpole." She was almost stunned to see the face melt away. "What
the..." was all she said as an orb as big as the head of the man she had
just blast exploded out of her would be attacker.
Before she could blink, she watched as Rich's sword came up and
split the orb, sending it back to bean two other attackers. She knew
Emma allowed Rich to use his sword for this training session, since he
asked her. In the brief moment after he had swung his sword, he looked
at her and said, "You ok, Jubilee?"
She nodded and said, "Yea, Skitz. You use that sword well." She
never saw someone use a sword so well.
Rich nodded back and said, "Well, I have been practicing." She
then noticed that everything returned to normal. The session had ended.
She heard Sean say, "Looks like it, lad." She watched as he and
Emma came from the control room. "But, ye all need to do a little
better than practicing. The only one who can pull their own weight is
Clarice." Jubilee looked over at the new girl. She looked like the one
they tried to rescue from Phalanx long ago, but she was different.
Jubilee watched as Clarice said, "I had to live through the
fighting." Jubilee could only suspect what Clarice's life was like
where she was from. Rich had said that Clarice came from a world where
Apocalypse had ruled. She also wondered if she and Everett were
together in that world. She could guess that Rich and Yvette had been
together in that world, because it was evident that Clarice thought she
had to protect Rich and Yvette.
She then heard Emma say, "Well, hopefully you won't see that much
fighting here. Now everyone, I want you all to get back to your rooms
and study. You have an exam on mythology tomorrow. Plus, I know some
of you can do better than you did last time." Jubilee knew what Emma
meant. She didn't fair too well on the last exam, but she didn't
understand why they needed to learn all the other things.
Jubilee watched as everyone dispersed. She knew that some of them
were going to get cleaned off after that intense session. However, she
knew that Rich and Yvette would head to their apartment. She quickly
ran over to them and said to Rich, "Hey Rich, I was wondering if you
might give me some swordfighting lessons." She noticed the odd look on
Rich's face after she asked that.
She figured that Rich was talking it over with Penny in their mind
link. Soon, she heard Rich say, "Sure, but we'll start with fake swords
first. Last thing I want to do is explain to Sean why you have a cut
through your arm, or worse." She knew what he meant. His choice was
for her own safety. He then said, "Now, I believe you have a test to
study for."
She nodded and said, "Yes sir, but don't you have to take the same
test." She loved to tease Rich about his odd status. He was both a
student and a headmaster. She decided to let him be after that and
headed to clean up. She had a study date with Everett tonight. First,
of course, she had to get her books from her room.
Jubilee had never moved so fast in her life. She got cleaned up
after the practice and ran back to her room in about 20 minutes, but she
knew Everett might not be ready. She decide it wouldn't hurt to give
things a quick look over before she left. As she walked over to her
bed, where she had thrown her books, she heard the door latch. She knew
she was in trouble. She knew that someone was there. She quickly spun
around, with a high kick, only to be snagged by a chain and thrown to
her bed. She looked up at her attack and her eyes went wide in fright.
It was someone she hoped she'd never see again. "Hello, Jubilee. I
hope you don't mind if I borrow your life, but Mojo thinks your friends
have a lot of potential." It was Abcissa, but she looked more like her.
Jubilee then felt something being placed on her head, and at the point
she passed out.
Rich walked with his wife down the hall to their apartment. He
knew something was bothering her. He could tell. He just said,
"Yvette, what's bothering you?" He had a feeling he knew, but he wanted
to be sure.
She looked at him and said, "I just don't think it's wise to teach
Jubilee sword fighting. I mean, either of you could get hurt. I don't
want to see that happen. Plus, the whole Claudette thing has be
nervous. What if the same thing happens with Jubilee?" He was right
about what was bothering her.
Rich took her hand and said, "My love, I know that your worried
about another incident like Claudette, but I don't think that will
happen again. Also, I won't allow any harm to come to Jubilee. I said
we wouldn't use real swords."
"I know, but I'm still worried. I thought Monet had stopped
Claudette, but she didn't and now look. I almost lost you." He knew
what she was referring to. When Claudette had broken free, the first
things she wanted to do was kill Emma, and give him to Emplate.
Rich stopped and faced his wife. "Love, we know Jubilee is
nothing like that. As for the training, I heard she picks up fighting
skills like that easily. So I want to test her." At that moment, he
remember that they had to study. "Oh my gosh, we have that test
tomorrow. I better brush up on the Egyptian Mythology." He entered the
door to their apartment like he was a blur.
He heard Yvette enter and say, "I don't see why you have to study.
You know more about mythology than I do." It was one of his passions,
but then with the family history, who could blame him.
As he grabbed some of the mythology books from the family library,
he said, "My love, I may know a majority of the legends, but after my
years at high school, I found out that Egyptian is one of my weak
points."
He was almost started when her heard Grimore say, "Not good. You
should be aware of all cultures. Maybe this test will be a good way for
you to brush up on your skills. It would do you well to know about what
you might go up against. Some myths are not myths at all."
This bothered Rich a bit. He knew some things his family had
encountered seemed unreal, but myths being real. Of course, he was
thinking about the monsters that he knew of. "Grimore, you mean to say
that creatures like Scylla and Charybdis are real?"
He noticed that the cat shook it's head. "No, that story isn't
true at all." Rich took a deep breath and Grimore said, "Charybdis was
the only monster that existed." Rich looked at the cat, as it said,
"Well, that is how the saying came about. Between a rock and a hard
place meant betweeen Scylla and Charybdis, and the cliffs there were
treacherous."
Rich didn't want to ask anymore and just sat down with Yvette at
the table. He watched as Yvette had started to read one of the books on
Mythology that he had brought, but it was one that he had purchased as a
kid. He noticed the name she was reading and he said in their mind
link, {Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She's who Athens is named after.}
He watched as she smiled at him.
She then said, {Well, we might be up all night studing. Do you
want to notify Jubilee that you can't teach her how to use a sword.}
He shook his head and said, {No, I think Morpheus will visit us
while we are studying.} It had been a late practice, but it had been
worth it. Now, it was late, and they both need to sleep and study. He
wondered how much studying they would get in before night would end.
Everett looked over at Jubilee as they studied. After dating for
so long, he could tell when something was wrong. Something about her
actions told him something wasn't right. He put his hand on hers and
said, "Jubes, what's wrong? You seem so distant."
As she looked into his eyes, he couldn't be sure, but he thought
he saw something that didn't quite fit. She weakly smiled and said, "I
just feel a bit bad about the trouble we almost got in."
Everett knew what she was talking about. He took her hand and
said, "Don't worry. Mondo said he wouldn't mention it to anyone." He
had to admit, it was awkward, but Mondo talked with him first. It would
have been worse if Mondo had told Sean. He noticed that something was
still bothering her. He knew what it couldn't have been, since they
never got that far intimately. He then said, "Jubilee, are you worried
about what happened here when we were visiting my family?"
He watched as she nodded and said, "Yea. I can't believe that it
all happened so quick. I wish I knew how Claudette had gotten free. I
mean, I know I never got along well with Monet, but even she didn't
deserve this." Everett understood what she meant. Claudette had
imprisoned Monet in her own mind. What ever Monet's body did, it was
what Claudette wanted. He watched as she got up and said, "I don't
think I can study. I'm going to head back to my room and rest."
Everett figured that Jubilee was worked up. Maybe she needed time
alone. He walked her to the door and said, "Jubes, if you need to talk
some more, just call. I also hope your ready for the test." He watched
as she nodded and headed out of the building. He didn't know what had
happened between the training session and now, but he could tell
something was bothering her.
Clarice stepped out of her room and started down the hall. She
had gotten her books and was on her way to study with Darrett. She felt
she could relate to him best. Like herself, he did not come from this
existance. As she headed out, she saw Jubilee walking into the dorm.
She could tell that Jubilee was a little out of sorts. She figured that
Jubilee was still shook up from the training session. When she finally
reached the guy's dorm, she made her way to Darrett's room. When she
got to the door, she knocked and she heard someone say, "Enter."
Clarice openned the door, and was started to see one of the
creatures she had fought earlier in the training session. She was
dumbstruct as the being said, "I shall go now, sir. Take care."
As the figure disappeared, she just said, "Darrett, that was...."
He nodded and said, "I know. I wanted to find out if I could
control them, and I could." Clarice had to admit that Darrett's ability
was a bit scary, but as long as he could control it, they were alright.
Maybe it added to her attraction to him.
She then set her books down and said, "Darrett, how can you be so
calm about that. What if one of those things rebelled." She noticed a
hurt look on Darrett's face. She had touched a nerve. She then said,
"I didn't know."
He just said, "It's alright. Luckily, it only ever happened once
here, but it happened a few times in the world I came from."
She knew that Darrett was like herself, from another timeline.
She looked at him and said, "Tell me what your world was like?" She
honestly wanted to know.
She noticed how uncomfortable Darrett looked about the topic and
then he said, "I came from a very dark future. You see, in my future,
the world was over run by Emplates. In fact, there was a war, and all
the X-Groups fell. All of Generation X fell. My parents were the last
two to die of Generation X."
She sat down and said, "Who were they?" She knew that Darrett
never told anyone about who his parents were, mainly because how it
would affect the team.
She noticed how mellow Darrett got, "They were Everett and Daria.
From what my mother told me, they were about to storm the Emplate's
headquaters in the states, when half of the remaining members of
Generation X were seperated. No one knows what happened to the two who
went missing, but they had failed."
Clarice could understand how Darrett might have felt. She didn't
want to mention it, but she did think she understood. She then said,
"Who lead these Emplates? The Emplate we have to worry about."
She watched as he shook his head, "No, the Lord and Lady of the
Emplates were Richard and Yvette. They were captured, enthralled, and
it blew their minds. They took it out on the world."
She sighed. "Not like my world. Apocalyps had taken over. He
had Rich and Yvette captured, experimented on, and killed." He saw the
grim look that crossed his face, like he didn't believe it. She then
said, "It is the truth. I saw what some of those experiments had done
to them." Before he could ask, she said, "Trust me, you don't want to
know. Now can we at least do some studying." He nodded and they began
to study for the exam.
***************************************
Yvette awoke when she heard the knock at the door. She looked at
the time on the clock and saw it was morning. She lifted her head from
the table she and her husband had been studying at. She also noticed
that his head was on the table as well. They had fallen asleep
studying. She got up and streched, to work out any stiffness in her
back from sleeping, and headed for the door. She noticed that Grimore
was also asleep, but she could see that his sleep was not restful. She
pushed the intercom button near the door and said, "Who is it?"
The voice came through the intercom, "It's me, Jubilee. Rich said
he was going to show me how to fight with a sword today." Yvette then
remembered what Rich had said to her last night.
Yvette just said, "I remember now. You head over to the training
room. I'll have him head over as soon as possible." She clicked off
the intercom and went over to Rich. She put her hands on his shoulders
and said, "Rich, it's time to wake up."
She watched as he started to wake up. As he sat up, he looked at
her and said, "What time is it?" She could tell he was still tired.
Part of it had to be the studying. They had even continued studying in
their dreams.
She looked at him and said, "It's about 6:45. Jubilee already
stopped by about the training." She watched as her husband almost
bolted out of the chair he was sleeping in. She then said, "How are you
going to make sure no one gets hurt?"
She watched as he pulled two wooden swords out of the closet.
"This is how. I got these at a Renaissance Fair when I was in high
school." Now she understood what Rich had meant about using fake
swords. He then smiled and said, "Just have to think of it as fencing."
She gathered all the books on the table together and said, "Well,
at least get cleaned up before you start fencing." She watched as he
nodded and headed into the bedroom and closed the door. As she started
putting the books on the shelves, she saw Grimore start to stur. She
walked over to the cat and petted it gently on the head. "Good morning,
sleepy head. Did you rest well?"
She watched as the cat stood up and stretched. "Not really. For
a brief moment, I felt like something malevolent was near by." She
didn't know what to think. Maybe Grimore was just having a nightmare.
Yvette picked up Grimore and started to pet him to calm him down.
As he purred, she said, "Now don't worry, Grimore. There is no one here
that is going to harm us. The only person who stopped by was Jubilee."
The cat looked at her and said, "Why did she stop by?" Grimore
didn't know about what Rich agreed to.
She was almost startled when Rich came out of the bedroom and
said, "She wanted to learn how to handle a sword." She watched as Rich
came over to her and he said, "Hun, I'll see you at the test. I hope
our studies will allow us to pass the test." He kissed her and headed
out the door with the two wooden swords.
After he left, she put Grimore down and said, "Well, I'm going to
get cleaned up. We have a test this morning." With that, she heading
into the bedroom, and to the bathroom to clean up.
Abcissa waited in the training room. She learned most of
everything here with the device Spiral had brought along. It allowed
her to know all of Jubilee's memories. From all the good memories, to
all the bad ones. She envied Jubilee. She was almost lost in that
thought when she heard a voice say, "Alright Jubilee, are you ready?"
She turned to face the man addressing her. He was the one they called
Rich.
She nodded and said, "As ready as I'll ever be." She watched as
he threw a wooden sword at her. She was half perplex at this. Jubilee
was suppose to be learning about sword fighting, so why use fake swords.
Before she could even ask, she heard Rich say, "Now I told you we
wouldn't use real swords." Now she started to worry. There were some
problems with the memory transfer. Jubilee might have been able to
fight it and the more current memories got muddled. She watched as he
held his sword in one hand and said, "Now to start, don't let me land a
strike on you."
She nodded and said, "Alright, Rich." She was almost startled
when he jumped and started to swing. She now had to use her instincts.
Many times, Mojo aired shows where she had to fight, and she knew how to
fight with weapons.
During the course of the session, she managed to defend herself
well. She could see some surprise on his face. During one attack, they
were face to face when he said, "You know, Jubilee, you are either a
quick learner, or you're hiding something."
She pushed him back and said, "What do you mean, Rich? I'm not
that good, I'm just copying you." It wasn't true, but she had to lie in
hopes she hadn't blown her cover. She watched as he prepared to stab at
her.
As he began the stab motion, he said, "Well, you seem to be acting
too good for your first time. Not even copying me this good can be done
by a beginner."
She parried the stab and said, "Like I said, quick learner."
She was surprised when Rich made a circular movement and the sword
flew out of her hands. She was almost startled as Richard said, "Or you
did this before. I saw something that bothered me. During that move
where we were close to each other, I saw some strange images. Now I
want to ask you what you did with Jubilee."
Now Abcissa had a problem. This boy knew what was happening. She
started towards the sword she had dropped, but he stopped her. She
looked at him and said, "Rich, it is the real me?"
Rich shook his head and said, "No, something is wrong. You look
like Jubilee, but you're not. Now what have you done with Jubilee?"
She just nodded, she had a back up plan. She looked at Rich and
said, "Spiral, I need some help." She saw Spiral appear behind Rich.
She watched as Rich turned and said, "What was ..." Spiral hit
him hard with three fists. He collapsed to the ground unconscious.
She watched as Spiral said to her, "Let me guess. He figured out
who you were?" She nodded and Spiral said, "Well, get the others like
planned. Mojo has plans for this one and Jubilee." She nodded and
headed off to the exam room. That was the best place to catch everyone.
Paige sat at her desk, looking at the clock. It was soon time to
start the test, and Emma and Sean agreed that the test wouldn't start
until all the students were present. The only two missing were Rich and
Jubilee. She fingered her test again, leaving it face down and said,
"Emma, when are we going to start this exam?"
She watched as Emma glanced up at the clock and said, "In two
minutes, regardless if Rich and Jubilee get in here." She watched as
Emma looked over at Yvette and said, "What possessed Rich to train
Jubilee to use a sword?"
She listened as Yvette said, "Jubilee came to us after the
training session. She asked Rich to show her some basic skills. I
don't think it would have taken this long." Paige noticed that at that
moment, Jubilee came walking in the door.
Emma just looked at her and said, "Jubilee, where have you been,
and where exactly is Richard." Paige was wondering that as well.
Paige noticed that Jubilee must have been nervous, because she
seemed to be toying with her earring. Paige wondered if Jubilee
considered them lucky earrings or something. She heard Jubilee say, "He
had to put the fake swords back, but he said he'd be here soon."
Paige just sighed and said, "Emma, Ah hope we all don't have to
wait again." She noticed that some of the others nodded in agreement,
but others didn't nod. They didn't want to appear to have an advantage.
She heard Everett say, "Emma, couldn't you give Rich a few extra
minutes after time is up for the exam." Paige had to agree that is
sounded like a sound idea.
She was surprised when Sean just said, "An excellent idea,
Everett. We'll do that lad. I'll take note of when Rich enters.
Everyone, begin." Paige went to her test and noticed that Jubilee had
finally sat down. Paige knew that Jubilee was the only one who wasn't
up late studying. She had heard Jubilee in her room when she got back
from studying with Jono and Angelo.
As Paige looked over the questions, she started to yawn. Maybe
the late night study session hadn't been a good idea. As she yawned
again, she heard several others yawning as well, with the addition of a
psyonic yawn from Jono. She went to look over at her teachers and said,
"Sean, Emma, could we.." She then noticed that both were asleep. She
looked around to noticed that everyone else was nodding off, except for
the one person who had gotten sleep, Jubilee. Soon enough, she couldn't
fight it and succumbed to sleep.
Abcissa looked around as everyone was sound asleep. She had done
it. She turned off the devices in her earrings and watched as Spiral
appeared again. Her multi-armed associate looked around and said, "You
did well, Mojo will be pleased with you."
She nodded and said, "That's what I must do, serve Mojo." She
didn't like it, but Mojo had yet to make her do anything she hated. As
she looked around, she said, "Does Mojo want me to stay with them?"
She watched as Spiral nodded and said, "Yes, you are to stay with
them. When Mojo explains everything, you must make sure they are all
forced to join Mojo." She nodded and Spiral then said, "Mojo has gotten
some good ideas from the Cale boy, and you might not be alone. You
might have a stunt double."
Abcissa smiled and said, "That sounds good." She hated the fact
Jubilee had dodged this fate, but now she was going to be forced into
it. She watched then as Spiral created a portal and started putting
Generation X in the starting room. As she watched, she said, "Spiral,
how long until they all wake up."
Spiral looked at her and said, "About 1 hour, plenty of time for
Mojo to try to convince those two to give up." This made Abcissa happy.
Although she was a slave of Mojo, now she could start exacting revenge
on Jubilee.
***************************************
Jubilee slowly awoke to a strange sight. Although she had a good
idea where she was, it was still a strange sight. Part of it was the
fact that she was standing in a capsule like object suspended in the
air. Another was the fact that it was over a pit. She couldn't see
what was in the pit, but something was in it. What made things ever
worse was the fact that her legs were locked in place, and her hands
were also locked in place. At least what ever was on her head was now
gone. However she wished she still had her eyes closed. She was
looking straight at the fat form of Mojo. She was almost teriffied, and
that terror grew when she heard Mojo say, "Well, it has been a while
Jubilee. I do miss the ratings your friends, the X-Men, brought in. In
fact, your friends are about to bring me in more ratings, and that may
be for years to come."
Jubilee struggled to break free, but couldn't. She looked at the
bloated blob and said, "Yea right. They won't sell their souls over to
you." At least, she hoped they wouldn't.
She didn't like how wide Mojo's grin got. "True, but if they die
and I bring them back to life with little nanobots, they can't leave.
Isn't technology wonderful, but unfortunately you don't have that
technology." He had a point. Earth wasn't as advanced as other
planets, and Mojo would do anything to keep start attractions.
Jubilee looked at him and said, "They won't do anything for your
amusement. Not even if it would mean death to them." She knew her
friends. They would find a way around anything to prevent any loss.
Again, the smile on his face got wider. She really didn't like
that. "They really don't have much choice, at least if they hope to see
one of their friends again." That meant he didn't just capture her.
She figured no one realized she was missing, but they might pick up on
something being odd, but what he said meant he had captured someone.
She hoped it wasn't Everett.
Finally, she heard a voice behind her said, "My head, where am I?"
She knew who Mojo had captured. He had captured Rich, and knowing
Penny, Penny wouldn't stop until Rich was free.
She saw Mojo smile and say, "Well, our guest and entertainment
provider is now awake. I'll make my introductions to him now." She
watched as he started around the metal walkway that was around the room.
He knew this boy had potential, but something told Mojo that the
boy was head strong. However the same device that he had Spiral use on
Jubilee, gave him access to some good ideas for these Gen X kids to go
through. As he made his way around the room, he heard Jubilee say,
"Rich, you're not going to like this."
He listened as the boy said, "Jubilee, I thought it was the real
you. Is this related to the imposter that's at the school?" He
wondered how the boy picked up on Abcissa. Abcissa and Jubilee looked
identical, but they were one in the same.
He listened as Jubilee said, "It has everything to do with her.
She's not really an imposter, but like ..." Mojo could hear how she was
trying to find the right word.
Just before he would enter view of the boy called Rich, he heard
him say, "Jubilee, what are you trying to say?" He heard a slight gasp,
and he smiled a bit. "Jubilee, how much trouble are we in?"
Mojo continued to walk into view and face the boy. "You're in a
lot of trouble, but I'm a fair being. I'm giving you the option of
saving your friends." He could see the shock on the boy's face. He
then said, "At least allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mojo,
intergalactic showman extrodinaire."
He watched as the boy blinked and then frowned. "And a prime
canidate for Richard Simmon's Sweating to the Oldies." Mojo almost let
an angry look cross his face. He wanted to hurt this boy now, but that
wouldn't fit with his plans.
Mojo then heard Jubilee go, "Rich, isn't that kind of mean to do
to Richard Simmons?" He could tell by her tone that this Simmons guy
was not well liked.
He watched as Rich said, "Strange, I was starting to feel pity for
this Mojo character if he was in that situation." He saw that Rich was
still frowning as he then said, "Now, why are we here, and where are our
friends?"
Mojo could tell that the boy was not in a good mood, and something
in his voice showed more concern than normal. "Oh, they are ok, for
now, and free to go back, that is if you're willing to stay. And that
goes for you too, Jubilee. Abcissa needs a stunt double."
He heard Rich say, "Tell me Mojo, are those wires into your scalp
to make you think, because if you think we are going to willingly had
our lives over to you, you are out of your head."
He just smiled. "No, I was betting you wouldn't. Deep down, I
think Abcissa was hoping Jubilee wouldn't agree either. Since you
picked up on her, I might as well tell you that Abcissa is a version of
Jubilee who agreed to serve me. However, my ratings have not gone as
bad to stoop to the ultimate ratings tactics with her."
He heard Jubilee shout out, "Thank God."
Mojo dismissed Jubilee's statement and then said, "Now if your
friends can survive, you all can go free."
He watched as an angry look crossed Rich's face. "What do you
mean by that?"
Mojo smiled even more, "Well, in order to get here, they are going
to have to survive a few movies you've seen. That little helmet on your
head has transfered information about those movies into our systems
here. Not only that, but if your friends die, they will be revived and
forced to stay with me."
He had one more surprise, and wanted Rich to find out about that
surprise at the right time. He noticed that Rich looked at him and
said, "And what is preventing us from breaking free of this prison and
stopping you from doing this."
Mojo turned on two monitors, one facing Jubilee, and one facing
Rich. "That is what is keeping you from breaking free." He saw the
fear in the boy's face. "Now, if you're lucky, you won't have to meet
that face to... well, not the right term, but I'm sure you know what I
mean. Now, I have a show to start." He turned and walked out a nearby
door. Now he had to wake up the rest of the group called Generation X.
***************************************
Daria awoke with a splitting headache. What ever had happened at
the test had hit her the worse. As she looked around the room, she saw
all her teammates, and her teachers, unconscious. Then she took another
head count, one was missing. Richard was missing. She ran over to
Mondo first, to try and wake her boyfriend. "Mondo, wake up. I think
we're in trouble."
It didn't take long until Mondo openned his eyes. In his eyes,
she could see the gentle man he was. "Daria, what happened? Last thing
I remember was the test, and all of a sudden, I was out."
She noticed the several of the others had started to wake up. She
even heard Sean say, "Aye lad, ye weren't the only one to pass out.
Anyone know what might of happened."
She heard Jubilee say, "I don't know, but I felt someone crack me
in the back of my head, and next thing I know, I'm in here."
She then heard Jono say, {Well, we aren't at the school anymore.
I think we might be in trouble.}
She heard Emma say, "Now all we need to know is where Rich is, who
captured us, and why?"
She saw Darrett get up and say, "Well, I see an open door, but
what is on the other side doesn't look like this room." She glanced out
the open door in the room and saw a big foyer like area. Darrett was
right. It looked nothing like this room, but it looked familiar to her.
She was startled as a voice boomed in the room and said, "That is
correct. That room is nothing like this room, but then, that's what
makes the show what it is." She turned to face a screen with a hideous
smiling face on it, with wires coming out of it's head.
She heard her teacher go, "Mojo. I was hoping never to see yur
ugly mug again." She also noticed that everyone was in shock. They had
never seen this being before, well all except for Jubilee. She didn't
see to be in shock.
She saw the smiling face look at Sean and say, "Well, well, well,
Banshee. This should be interesting how you can direct these kids
through five deadly movies."
Daria then heard Jubilee say, "If you think we are going to risk
our lives for you Mojo, you're nuts." She heard other students agree as
they came out of shock.
The smiling face continued to smile and said, "Oh, does that mean
you don't want your prize if you can do it in 5 hours." She saw the
screen change and saw figure being held in some device, frozen with
fear.
She realized who it was just as Yvette realized it. "Richard. If
you hurt him at all, Mojo, I'll make you sorry you ever brought us
here." She watched as the screen shifted back and Mojo was still
smiling.
"Ah, now I see why he was so concerned about you all. He has
someone special to him." She watched as Mojo laughed and said, "Well
then, you better get moving. There is only one way out of that room,
and once you leave, the clock starts. I hope you make this
interesting." The screen changed to a counter as Mojo's face
disappeared.
As she looked out into the hallway, she heard Clarice say, "That
guy has a few screws loose." She had to agree, but now she wanted to
know why that room looked so familiar.
Sean could not believe the trouble they were all in. Mojo was not
one to play with a full deck. If anything, he didn't want any of the
kids to face anything like Mojo. He knew that Jubilee had dealt with
Mojo before, but this was different. Now, if he didn't have the team
enter whatever Mojo had planned, they might lose Rich. If they did,
they might lose Rich and a few of the team. Either way, it didn't look
good. As he tried to figure out the best plan of action, he heard
Yvette say, "Banshee, we have to save my husband. We have to save
Skitz."
Sean nodded and said, "I know, Penance, but we need to figure out
what we are going up against. Mojo told us that our time doesn't start
until we enter that room. I'd like to know what that room is."
He head Daria say, "It looks familiar, like it's from a movie."
That was when Sean remembered what Mojo said.
He looked at everyone and said, "That's it. This is a movie, but
here the movies will kill us. And knowing a bit about Mojo, he will do
anything to keep a money maker. Unless...."
He heard Emma say, "He has taken precautions to reanimate us.
Something to ensure we stay here."
Sean didn't like the sound of that. If they made one mistake,
they were stuck. As he looked out onto the room, he said, "Now, what
movie is this from, and where is he getting the movie ideas?"
He watched as Yvette peared out the room and said, "This is the
visitor's center from Jurassic Park. No doubt we have to make our way
to the refrigerator in the kitchen. And our best bet would be the
ceiling."
Sean looked at his adopted daughter and asked, "Why do ye say
that, Penance?"
He watched as she pointed in one direction. "That's why."
He and the others looked as she was pointing at mural. On it was
various dinosaurs. At first he didn't see what she was pointing at, and
then he noticed it. It looked like an eye blinked. Then Synch said, "A
Raptor. Do you think it's alone?"
Sean then remember the movie. "Nae, there are probably others
around. So the ceiling would be our best bet. Look for a vent."
He then heard Daria say, "Banshee, I can fly out and find one, and
try and get each one of us up to it." Sean had to agree, it might be
the best bet. He watched as she flew out the door. He noticed that the
raptor they all had seen still hadn't moved. He hoped that they
wouldn't enter the small room.
He then heard Darrett say, "You better tell Daria to move fast.
Look." He turned and saw what Darrett meant. The timer had started to
count down. The race had begun.
Angelo watched as the counter had hit 4 hours and 55 minutes. It
was taking Daria a long time to get to the vent. Soon he saw her flying
not to far from the door with a grim look. He looked out the door and
said, "Let me guess, no vent." When she nodded, he said, "Well, I guess
that leaves no place to go but into ambush country."
He was amazed abit at how well Daria could control her flying
ability. She looked over at the raptor and then said, "Our fan is still
there, but I can't shake the feeling he's not alone."
Angelo then saw Everett thinking, and soon enough, his friend
said, "Banshee, I have an idea. Daria, can you lift Banshee and myself
to the center of the room."
When she looked around and smiled, she said, "I think I know what
you have planned, Synch."
Angelo was even more surprised when Sean said, "It might work.
Let's give it a try." He watched as Daria lifted the two to the dead
center of the room. He noticed that the raptor had started to watch
them. That was when the two started to yell. Angelo covered his ears,
and watched as the raptor fell down. He thought he heard two more
thuds. Soon, the audio assult stopped, and Sean said, "Ye were right
lad. Everybody, let's hurry."
He followed as everyone ran out the door. When they were all in
the lobby, Yvette said, "Everyone, this way. Skitz and I have seen the
movie enough times to have a very good idea of where everything is."
As they all ran up the steps, following Penance, he glanced down
at the downed trio of dinos. He didn't like what he saw. He just said,
"Synch, Banshee, I don't think you had your yells on a long enough of a
stun." The raptors were starting to get up, and noticed that all of
them were way above them.
He watched as Penance ran in a door, and everyone just followed.
He was last in the door and closed it and locked it. Soon enough,
Everett and Jubilee put a table by the door and they all continued to
the back. He heard Jubilee say, "That might not hold for long."
As he followed, he heard a crash at the door. He turned to see
the door was still closed, but the table was on it's side. Had the
crash knocked the table over? That had to be the answer, but he wasn't
about to find out. He ran into the kitchen area and said, "Better find
the exit fast. Those raptors are ready to come in for their dinner."
He watched as Emma said, "Don't worry, Skin. Penance just openned
the door to the fridge, and it leads to another of Mojo's waiting rooms.
I think we have survived this round." He watched as everyone started to
enter the room. The second crash seem to speed everyone up.
Angelo used his skin on the handle and ran toward the door. As he
entered, the raptors entered the kitchen at a full run. He quickly
yanked on the handle, snapping the door closed and said, "Bye bye,
lizards." When the door closed, he turned and said, "Ok, what's next?"
***************************************
Jubilee watched in horror as she saw what Abcissa did. "I don't
believe you'd do this." She had watched as Abcissa started the table to
wobble after Everett ran off. "She's sabatoging the team."
She watched as Mojo continued to watch the screen. "Why yes. I
told her to do that. Make's the game more interesting. Of course, they
don't know who the traitor is." Jubilee started to smile inwardly.
Mojo might not have realized about Rich's mental link with Yvette.
Jubilee wished she could talk with Rich the same way, but he was
in absolute terror. The image of what was in the pit had scared him
stiff. She didn't want to tip off Mojo to the bond Rich had with
Yvette. On the other hand, she had to snap Rich out of the state he was
in. Jubilee just shouted, "I wish we could warn them."
Mojo just looked at her and said, "If you did, you'd end up in
that pit right away." She didn't like the smile he gave. He looked
like he meant it.
It was then when Rich finally spoke, "And you'd suffer. I can
tell you're bluffing."
Jubilee watched as she saw Mojo honestly sweat. She then said,
"Rich, welcome back to reality, but how can you be sure?" She was
starting to worry that Rich had gone delirious or mad.
Rich then said, "Because, if he drops us before time is up, his
ratings will fall. He's not going to risk that now." She could see
that Mojo's smile disappeared. Rich was right. He was bluffing. She
felt relief at that.
Mojo then said, "You're lucky that ratings are more important. If
I didn't have to worry about them, you would have been dropped. By the
way, just incase someone was trying to get to you telepathically, I put
a little mind barrier around this room. Now let's see how you friend do
in Egypt." Jubilee looked up as the monitor showed the next zone their
friends would be entering. She hoped no one would die.
Rich watched as Mojo walked out a nearby door again. He was going
to taunt everyone a bit more. Rich didn't know what scared him more.
What might happen to Yvette and the others, or dying through a childhood
fear. When the door finally closed, Rich just said, "Jubilee. You've
dealt with this thing before. How crazy is he?"
He heard Jubilee say, "Let me put it this way. He's as crazy as
he is fat." Rich didn't like the sound of that. She then said, "But he
does care more about ratings. If keeping us alive helps his ratings,
the last thing he'll do is kill us. What's scary is he thinks
Generation X is fresh material and get him tons of ratings. He'd kill
them and reanimate them just to keep high ratings."
Rich then remember what led to his capture. "Then what's the deal
with Abcissa. Why is he so reluctant to risk her?" That was one fact
that was bothering him. Mojo seemed so detemined for ratings, yet was
holding back for some reason.
He heard Jubilee gag and say, "Ugh, I just had a nasty thought,
and I rather get that out of my head." He figured what that thought was
and quickly pushed it out of his head. "Rich, is there any way you
could warn them?"
Rich looked at the screen of the area they were about to enter.
"Not there, too high profile of a movie. Jubilee, can you see anything
that might hint at what they will go up against in the upcoming areas."
He listened for a moments and then she said, "Well, all the way to
the right is the creature from one of your favorite movies. In the
middle is one of those things from the Matrix." Rich didn't like that
film. Soon he felt a pain in his head and Jubilee said, "Wait a minute,
it changed. Mojo must have found something different, and it looks
hideous."
Rich focused his thoughts for a second and then said, "What's the
other?" He needed to find a low profile film. One he could mentally
change to deliver a message that Yvette would get.
He heard Jubilee gasp and then said, "It's that tall man, that
turned into that orb thing you cut with your sword."
He smiled. "Well, Mojo managed to grab something low profile.
That's where I can leave a clue." Now all he had to do was focus on
that movie and think of a good place to alter it. Some place he would
think Yvette would look.
***************************************
Everett looked around the area they were about to enter. It was
almost dark, but it was a cave darkness, and torches were lit along the
walls. From the markings he saw, he knew what movie they were about to
enter. "Looks like it's the movie `The Mummy'. Which means, we have to
be careful of scarabs, mummies and Imhotep." He notice a light behind
him and saw Jono had unravelled the wrappings that hid the chamber
holding the bionuclear energy.
He then heard Chamber say, {Then, maybe we should stick together
and stay in the light.}
He heard Husk say, "Good thinking, Chamber. This should at least
keep the beetles away. Also, since we are in a cave, we have to be
careful not to cause a cave in."
Everett had an idea and said, "Penance, let me synch up with you."
As he did, he focused on making his hands just likes Penance's claws.
He then said, "Alright, we have a few weapons ready here."
He saw Daria had changed her arms into swords. "Two more here."
He had to admit that her ability was very useful. He wondered if the
cybernetics that made her part sentinel had something to do with it.
Everett watched as everyone advanced into the tunnels. He kept an
eye out for any attackes. As they kept moving forward, he heard Emma
say, "I can sense something on the other side of the larger room up
ahead. I think it might be our exit, and something guarding it."
When they came upon the room, he was almost in awe. Just like in
the real movie, the room was full of gold, and mirrors that reflected
light from about into the room. As he looked over the room, he also
noticed movement. He had a good idea of what it was. He just said,
"Ok, we have mummies coming our way, and what every anyone does, don't
hit any of the mirrors." He knew that might be difficult, but failure
might mean death for all of them.
Paige watched as the mummies started to advance. She started to
wonder if Synch, Penance and Daria could hold them all off. Then she
had an idea. She quickly husked of her skin and changed into pure
adamantium. She ran forward and said, "Get ready for a fourth in the
line up."
She watched as Jubilee also advanced and said, "Hey, maybe I can
torch a few of them." Now that was thinking. Paige then noticed the
first wave was almost on them, and they weren't unarmed.
Just before one could even use it's weapon, Paige saw a fist of
pure gold shatter the one mummy. She saw Mondo standing next to her,
all in gold. "I couldn't let Daria have all the fun." Paige knew how
much the two cared for each other. Daria had even told her.
She then heard Banshee say, "Alright team, we're making a dent in
them. We need to get to the other side of the room." She looked at far
end of the room and saw that their exit was there.
She heard Darrett got, "I think that just got a lot more
difficult." She looked up and saw a figure standing there. She
realized who it was just as Darrett said, "I think we have to fight
Imhotep himself."
She turned to Banshee and said, "It might be best if you yelled at
the ceiling above him, Banshee. Then we can get by him." She hoped it
wouldn't break any of the mirrors, or block the exit.
She then heard Emma say, "Too big of a risk. We might want to
risk a rush. If we can't get out, everyone is as good as dead." Emma
was right about that, but she still thought it was worth the risk.
She then heard a small explosion and Jubilee saying, "I think the
rush is the best idea. I think I goofed on one of my blasts." Paige
saw what Jubilee meant. The head of one mummy went flying off towards
one of the mirrors, and it was going to hit it.
Paige watched as Penance looked at everyone and said, "Run." She
didn't need to be told twice. As they ran for the exit, she turned to
see a few figures appearing behind them, right were they had been.
Although she didn't see their faces, the men were in army clothes, and
started shooting guns at the oncoming beetles. She knew how they got
there, and looked over at Darrett.
Darrett didn't glance back when the firefight started. He was
more focused on reaching the door. As they ran, he just said, "They
should keep our backs covered. But ugly up ahead looks ready to do
something." Just as he said that, one of the men turned around and
aimed his shotgun at Imhotep.
He watched as everyone ducked down and the blast of the shotgun
took out the mummy. As the man turned back to the beetles, he heard
Jono say, {Wasn't that one of the blokes from Doom?}
He saw Synch turn his head and say, "Chamber's right. When did
you ever see that game?" As they continued towards the exit and
what was left of Imhotep, he heard Banshee say, "We don't have much
time, look at the ceiling." He glanced up and saw that it was starting
to descend.
He then heard Emma shout, "We'll just make it." He then heard the
roars of anguish. He glanced back and saw the beetles overtake the
three beings he called in from Doom. The beetles started to make a
bee-line towards them.
Everyone was almost in the door, and Husk was towards the back of
the group with Jubilee. He was starting to get worried, and then
Jubilee let loose with a huge firework. It lit up the room and the bugs
retreated. He never saw Jubilee do anything like that. He watched a
Husk looked at her and said, "That's Jubilee, that was brave."
Jubilee just looked at her and said, "No problem, but lets get
out. Darrett do you think you can use your ability a few more times."
He thought about it and then said, "Maybe two more times, but I
don't want to strain my ability. It hurts a bit when they die." He
knew that was true. He couldn't dispel them if they died. With that,
he, Jubilee and Husk jumped through the door, leading to the break point
between movies.
When he closed the door, he heard Banshee say, "Good job all, we
survived two movies, and have about 3 hours and 45 minutes left. We
should be able to make it and rescue Skitz." He had to admit, after all
his time with Generation X, he had learned that Richard Cale and Yvette
were not the evil creatures that they were in his timeline. He was
thankful for that.
***************************************
Spiral looked on at the screen and said, "It looks like they are
proving tougher than you thought they would. Do you think having
Abcissa try and sabatoge them was a good idea." She had to admit that
she didn't like how Mojo treated the slave girl. He always seemed to
hold back on her. She did have to admit that the one boy was clever.
She watched as she heard Richard Cale start laughing. She could
see how irate Mojo was starting to get. She watched as Mojo walked over
to the edge of the pit that Richard Cale and Jubilee were kept over and
said, "Alright boy, what's so funny? Or do you want to explain it to
the plant below?"
She noticed the brazen look on the boy's face as he said, "You
don't have the guts, lardo. If you dump us, your `ratings' will go
through the floor. Audiences don't like rigged games."
Spiral then noticed as the ratings started to drop. She knew Mojo
was taping what was happening in the room, but the vocal was only
transmitted when he spoke to Richard Cale, or Richard Cale spoke to
Mojo. She looked over at Mojo and said, "Sir, the ratings are starting
to drop."
She watched as Mojo stepped back, and turned to Spiral. "Keep an
eye on them. I don't want them trying anything. I need to find out
more about that boy." She figured that Mojo was going to taunt
Generation X again.
After he left, she was startled to hear Richard say to her, "So
that's the phoney's name. What was he smoking when he thought that up?"
She knew Mojo had told him a little of the background on Abcissa, but
she also figured Jubilee told him some as well.
She looked up at the captive boy and said, "At a time when Mojo
wasn't playing with a full deck," She heard Jubilee laugh at that, but
ignored it. "he tried to something quite dangerous. During that time,
he had Abcissa in tow, from a future where Jubilee willingly agreed to
be his slave. Somehow during that event, when Jubilee refused, Abcissa
remained. She has been in tow ever since."
She looked on as Rich said, "I think you envy her. She seems to
be Mojo's favorite." With every word he spoke, Spiral wanted to punch
Richard Cale for it. She then looked at the screen. Generation X was
about to enter the next zone, and maybe one of them would be staying a
long time.
***************************************
Yvette looked out the door that lead to the next movie. She
didn't recognize where they were heading. She turned back towards the
others and said, "I don't recognize this one. The only thing I can
think of is that it looks like a masoleum."
She knew it wasn't a comforting thought, but when Mojo appeared on
the one screen in the little room, the masoleum became more comforting.
She watched as the fat blob said, "Well, well, well, two down and three
to go. I'll admit that you're full of surprises. I never expected you
to be able to call in extras, however they will make for nice additions
to my slaves."
She watched as Darrett just laughed. "Doubt it, fatso. They were
dead to begin with." She noticed how agitated Mojo looked when he heard
that. She tried to supress her laughter, but she felt she couldn't.
When she laughed, she heard Mojo say, "Go ahead and laugh it up,
but you have only 3 hours and 45 minutes to save your boyfriend."
That brought her back to reality. She looked at Mojo and said,
"If you kill my husband, I'll make you regret it." She then saw a smile
cross Mojo's face, and it scared her. She gave him too much
information.
Mojo nodded and said, "Thank you for that information. I might
have to rethink some things." The image disappeared. She was scared
now. She didn't know what Mojo meant, but she had a feeling that it
wasn't good.
She turned to her `father' and said, "I'm scared now. What will
he do to Skitz now?"
She felt him hug her, trying to comfort her. "I don't know. But
something tells me that Mojo just saw another plan come to life." She
didn't feel to comforted by that. Then he said, "However, that may just
save Skitz's life."
She then heard Emma say, "But we might want to have Beast check
him out? First, we need to finish this. This next area is odd. I'm
picking multiple brainwave activity. Possibly we will have a lot of
enemies to face here."
As they all ventured forward, Yvette noticed that it looked like a
crypt. This was starting to scare her. As they continued down the one
hall, she heard Synch say, "This is exactly like a masoleum."
Yvette then heard Darrett say, "I've seen this somewhere, but I
can't place it." She wondered if it was a movie that Rich had only seen
in passing. It was very creepy, just by the setting alone.
As she continued on, she noticed something in the distance. It
looked like one of the crypts had a huge spherical handle. Then she
noticed something eerie. It was floating, and starting in her
direction. She was about to duck down when she stumbled over something.
She noticed a plaque there, inscribed in her own native tounge. She
looked over it and realized Rich was trying to help them. She then
looked up at the ball and saw the two blades on it She stayed low, and
shouted back, "Everyone get down."
She heard everyone hit the floor just before the sphere flew over
where they were all standing. Yvette listend as Blink said, "What was
that?"
She heard Darrett then say, "Now I know where we are. We're in
one of the Phantasm movies. This is not going to be easy." Yvette
looked down at the plaque. That was what Rich had said in his message.
She then noticed more on the plaque. Something that made her worry. It
was how Mojo managed to capture them all. He had replace one of them
with a fake, and she couldn't believe who it was that had been replaced.
Emma noticed that Penance was looking at something, and made her
way over to Penance. Ever since what happened with Monet, Emma had been
focusing on developing Penance's psychic abilities. When she got next
to her, she said mentally [What is it, Penance?]
She waited until Penance looked back at her and said, [Skitz is
helping us. He left us a clue about what we are up against, but there's
more.]
Emma looked at the plaque. She figured Rich hadn't put the clue
in English, but in Penance's native language. [What does he say?]
Something about Penance's face told her she wouldn't like what it was.
Penance glanced back and then looked at her and said, [Mojo
replaced one of us already. That's how he captured all of us.] Emma
looked back and realized what Penance was saying. The only one who it
could be was Jubilee. The only question was when was the switch made.
[I think she might be doing stuff to sabatoge us.]
Emma just nodded and said, [Alright, but for right now, we can't
do anything. If we did anything to Jubilee now, Mojo might do something
to the real Jubilee. And I think if we fail to get through this,
Jubilee will be dead.] She heard Penance gasp aloud. She then said,
[Right now, the best we can do is play this like we are trying to save
Skitz.]
She watched as Penance nodded and said, [You're right, Emma.] She
watched as Penance then looked up and said, "Looks like everything is
clear right now."
As everyone started getting up, she heard Darrett say, "Ok, I know
this series. I know Rich watched number 3 with me, but I know this
series better than he does."
Emma watched as Sean said, "Alright lad, what do we need to find
then to get out."
She listened as Darrett said, "Mojo most likely put the exit to
the movie in the embalming room, where the Tall Man does his dirty work.
We will have to be careful of more of his spheres, as well as dwarves.
Just to let you know, everything is dead here."
Emma was puzzled by this. She looked at Darrett and said, "If
everything is dead, then how am I picking up brainwave activity."
Emma was almost startled when she heard another whistle. She
turned and saw another silver sphere coming right at all of them. She
watched as Chamber shot a bolt of energy at it and it fell to the floor
in two. She then noticed a disgusted look on everyone's faces as
Chamber said, {There's our answer. These sphere have brains.}
Darrett then said, "That's how they work. The Tall Man takes the
brains from the corpse and puts it into these deadly spheres. The
corpse then becomes like a mini-slave, and will do anything for the Tall
Man."
She then heard Synch say, "Is there any way to stop this Tall
Man?" It would help if they knew that.
She almost was crestfallen when Darrett shook his head and said,
"Not really. He doesn't like cold, but it won't matter what you do to
him. He just comes back."
She heard Skin remark, "Well, I think we better get moving before
he comes checking on his toys. I do not want to be here when he sees
what happen to one his ... troops."
She saw Husk look at Skin and say, "Change what you were going to
say?"
Darrett just smiled and said, "Well, that was the tagline of the
movie?"
Emma just said, "This is not the time to be making jokes and
talking about the movie." She then reached down and picked up part of
the broken sphere. She looked at the image she saw and smiled. "Now,
we can use this to look down passages." She watched as everyone nodded
and they were off.
As they made their way through the halls of the masoleum, Emma
heard Jubilee say, "Darrett, how tall do you think this Tall Man would
be?"
She noticed as Darrett froze and said, "Did he see us?"
Jubilee shook her head and said, "No, he just went down the hall
where we came in at." Emma felt a bit releaved at that, but she
expected this fake Jubilee to do something to help the Tall Man. She
didn't want to tell the others. Emma knew if they all knew, Mojo might
try something dangerous.
When she turned to face the front, she noticed that Mondo had
disappeared. She wondered if the boy had merged with the walls. She
watched as Banshee then said, "Alright everyone, Mondo says the next
door is the room we are looking for, and he's says that there's hundreds
of the spheres in there. He's trying to use his ability to prevent
them from moving. I just hope we have enough time for him to do
something."
It was almost as if Emma was expecting it, but not what she
thought would happen. All of a sudden, she heard Penance scream, as if
she was in terrible pain. They were lucky that Penance hadn't tensed
up, but they weren't so lucky when she heard an almost growling voice
yell out, "Girrrlllllll." Apparently the Tall Man heard Penance's
scream.
Mondo heard Penance's scream and knew that he had to be ready to
act quick. When he noticed the door to the refrigerated room, he knew
what he had to do. He quickly openned that door. He noticed how
everyone of the spheres slowly stopped moving. Apparently, the cold had
a negative affect on them. He then heard the whole group come towards
the room. He could hear Banshee say, "Hurry everyone. Last thing we
need is for that bugger to get a hold of us."
He watched in silence as they all entered the room and headed for
the door out. As each one past, he heard a few asking where he was. He
didn't want to show where he was yet. He knew timing was everything,
especially when he had to protect people he cared about, like Daria. He
then saw Daria and Emma enter carrying Penance. Apparently, Penance was
not totally with it. He then saw the Tall Man enter the room. Darrett
was right about the man's description. In fact, it looked like the Tall
Man's outfit was a few sizes too small. Just as the Tall Man was on
Emma and Daria, he heard Daria say, "Mondo, help us."
It was time. The Tall Man had quickly glanced at the open door.
The cold was affecting him. Mondo started to morph out of the wall and
pushed the Tall Man with such force that he went flying into the
refrigerated room. He quickly slammed the door and said, "Sorry, sir,
but you need to chill for a bit." Afterwards he turned and said,
"Everyone, to the door. He won't stay in there for long."
As they finally dragged Penance in the door, Mondo heard Darrett
say, "Mondo, close the door." Mondo looked up as he got in the door and
saw the small window on the refrigerated room's door shatter as a gold
sphere came out with three blades on it. He didn't want to find out
where it came from, but had a feeling it was the Tall Man itself.
When he finished closing the door, he heard the gold sphere
ricochet off the door. He slowly sat down and then said, "What
happened?" He was concerned at how fast chaos broke loose.
As everyone caught their breath from the run, he finally heard
Penance say, "They're hurting Rich. I can tell. I don't know what they
are doing, but I can tell." He could see it in her eyes that she wasn't
making it up.
Almost as if he was waiting for the right time, the screen lit up
showing Mojo. "Well done. I though a least one of you would have ended
up stuck to one of those spheres."
He listend as Banshee said, "Alright Mojo, what are ye doing to
Skitz?"
Mondo watched as the bloated form just said, "Nothing. It might
be a strain from pulling these movie ideas from his head, but I'll cut
you all a break. The fun won't start in the next area for 15 minutes.
So you have that much time to get as far as you can. Just one bit of
advice."
He heard a bit of venom in Jubilee's voice as she said, "What's
that?"
He was unnerved when Mojo's grin got wider and said, "Have a
light, and remember," The watched as Mojo moved aside, giving them a
clear view of Skitz, hanging as if he was unconscious. "two hours and
45 minutes, and he dies." When the door to the next area openned, Mondo
shielded his eyes from the blinding light.
***************************************
Mojo spun around as the connection terminated and yelled at
Spiral. "How did she know? You said that no one would know, but she
knew." He was hoping to get this little task complete before anyone
noticed. Spiral wheeled the boy back in and placed him back in the
holding area Mojo had had him in.
When the boy was secured, he heard Spiral say, "I don't know how
she knew. Maybe there is some psychic bond the two share."
Mojo then heard Jubilee go, "Well, duh. You never thought of
that. I thought you would have thought of everything."
Mojo walked over to Jubilee and said, "Well, I doubt he was able
to help your friends at all. The pain he felt might be the only thing
he could convey to his wife, but not that you are here." However, if
the boy did manage to let the redhead know about the fake Jubilee, he
might have to take more precautions. He had been giving little tips to
Abcissa on how to sabatoge each movie. The last one didn't go as
planned due to the redhead's screaming. After he got done talking to
Jubilee, he moved over to Spiral and said, "Keep an eye on both of them,
and when Richard comes too, test the cameras we put in his eyes." He
walked out of the room to think about what he had done. He had inserted
a minicamera into both of Richard Cale's eyes. Maybe he could get some
of Generation X as a drama show. He smiled when he thought of that and
started to laugh.
***************************************
Clarice looked around as they walked through the harsh wasteland.
She couldn't believe how bright the sky was. Then, when she had
shielded her eyes, she saw it. "Oh my God. There are three suns here."
She then noticed a fearful look fill Penance's eyes. She looked over a
Penance and said, "What's wrong?"
She noticed there was a bit of fear in Penance's eyes as she said,
"We need something for light. It's going to be worse when it gets
dark." Clarice then noticed that it did seem to be getting darker. She
glanced up at the sky and noticed that a planet appeared to be blocking
some of the suns.
She then heard Skin say, "Penance, we won't be in the blazing
heat. That's not a bad thing."
Clarice then noticed something. Off in the distance, she saw
something move atop the one rock column. It was at that moment she
realized what Penance meant. She quickly turned to Darrett and said,
"Darrett, do you know of anything that can produce alot of light, for a
long time?"
She watched as Darrett thought for a moment. Right then, she
heard Jono say, {Don't think my light we be enough, Blink?} Honestly
she didn't know, but she did think it would be better if Darrett did
something.
She then heard Penance go, "No, it wouldn't. We need to light up
the whole general area, and Darrett hurry." She then noticed that the
darkness was growing. Clarice then fully appreciated the size of their
problem, especially when she saw the swarming creatures in the areas
that were being rapidly engulfed by darkness.
Banshee looked over at Darrett and said, "Lad, ye better think
quick, or else we're dead."
Soon enough, a robot appeared with a light bulb on it's head. As
it looked around, Darrett said, "Bright Man, get that lightbulb lit and
keep it lit." The robot did as it was told and soon the area all around
them was lit up, even when the darkness engulfed the area they were in,
they were still in the light. While they were in the safety of the
light, she heard Darrett say, "Penance, what movie is this?"
She was surprised when Synch said, "Pitch Black. We were watching
a late night movie one night and this was the one picked. Some people
crash land on a planet, and when the darkness came, these creatures came
out. They had some problems, like unstable people in the group, and the
creature were hunters. They followed anything bleeding."
She heard Jubilee say, "Well then, we're lucky. No one's cut."
She saw Synch shake his head. Jubilee was almost irate when she said,
"What do you mean no."
She then heard Emma say, "I think he means bleeding in any form.
I suggest that all the ladies move to the inside of the group." As they
did so, Clarice wondered how they were going to make it out of this
alive.
***************************************
When Rich finally awoke, he looked out to see a somewhat familiar
sight. Mojo was in front of him, as well as three screens. On the main
screen, he saw Generation X huddled around one of the robots from the
game series Mega Man. On the one to the right was a picture of what he
and Jubilee would be dropped to if Generation X failed to reach them.
It had been a deep childhood fear he thought he had overcome. The first
time he saw a commercial for that musical, he had been afraid of Audrey
II. As he got older, he thought it was fake, and learned that it was.
Now it was there, real, and hungry. But that wasn't the most unnerving.
The most unnerving thing was the screen to the left. It was everything
he was looking at. It changed as he turned his head. As he watched, he
heard Jubilee go, "What the blazes?" Apparently she was seeing the same
thing.
Rich just said, "I don't know what that is, Jubilee, but it's
freaking me out." He wondered if a camera was near his head somewhere.
He then saw Mojo turnaround and smile at him. This unnerved him more.
Mojo just looked at him and said, "Glad to hear you're awake.
Like my new cameras. With it, if your friends succeed, I can broadcast
all their adventures. I can also show them a real life drama."
Rich closed his eyes as the realization hit him. "You put them in
my eyes. That's why you knocked me out earlier." He started shaking
his head in disbelief. "You are a sick maniac." The whole idea made
him mad. Soon enough he heard a quiet click and realized something was
missing.
As he openned his eyes, he heard an irate Mojo shout, "What's
wrong with the cameras?" He looked over at the screen, and realized it
was out of focus.
He heard the voice of Spiral say, "We had to make the camera's
match his eyesight, so that the glasses wouldn't affect it negatively."
He heard Jubilee laugh, and say, "Mojo, you are so stupid. If
Rich's glasses are gone, your camera's are useless." He started to
laugh as well, as Mojo was almost fuming.
He was laughing so hard he almost forgot about the pit below him.
Until he heard a voice say in a deep bass, "What was that? Is there
food up there? Feed me." He forgot about the plant. Now he need hoped
Generation X would hurry.
***************************************
Jono looked on as they continued through the dark. Darrett's
latest conjure attempt was successful, and had been helping them for the
walk, even through the chasm. If wasn't for Everett's memory of the
late-night movie, they might not have made it this far. They were now
at a camp of some sorts, with a vehicle at the far end. That had to be
the door. As they started to make their way across the camp, Jono
notice the radius of the light dropped a bit then went back to normal.
He turned to Darrett and said, {Darrett, I think there is something
wrong with this robot you summoned?}
He saw everyone get scared and then watched as Banshee looked at
him and said, "Darrett, check the bot. Chamber, blast a beam towards
the door. It might tell us if we can make a run for it."
Jono stepped to the front of the group and started a blast up.
Not a strong one, but enough to check to see how many of the creatures
were there. The first blast showed nothing on the ground. He then
blasted up at an angle, and saw four in the sky. Three were fighting
each other. One was just flying, and watching them. Jono just said,
{Four in the sky. Three of them are fighting amonst themselves.}
He heard Synch say, "They're starved, and have started attacking
each other. That's why there may be so few here." That seemed to make
sense to him.
He then heard Darrett say, "Look's like Brightman here has sprung
a leak. He's losing something. He might not hold out much longer."
He heard Husk say, "How did he spring a leak?" This puzzled him
as well. How did that happen? He would have pressed it, but they
didn't have much time.
He then heard Emma say, "We might need someone to head to the
door, which means someone has to brave the dark."
He just nodded and said, {I'll go.} He saw Paige was about to
object and he said, {With a private source, I think they will stay
back.} His confidence seemed to passify Paige. He just hopped it would
help keep him calm.
He then heard Synch say, "Jono, just some advice. They have a
blind spot, right in front of their mouths." It wasn't comforting, but
it was helpful. He then nodded and headed out into the darkness.
Jono knew he was taking a big risk, but he figured that he was the
only one who could succeed. He was almost to the door when he noticed
the bulb flicker again. Next time it might not light up. Then the next
problem arose. The creature landed right in front of him. He stayed
right were he was, in the creatures blind spot. As the creature moved,
he moved. He was determined to stay in the blind spot, but at the right
time, blast the creature. The creature got ready to move again and
stopped, but Jono couldn't. The creature started to yell, but Jono
blasted it. The creature yelped in pain before collapsing dead. Jono
just looked at it and said {Sorry, no snacks here.} He then ran for the
door an openned it. Light flooded the area and reached the rest of the
group. He yelled back, {Come on everyone. Let's get out of here.}
He watched as everyone ran for the door. Darrett made the bot
disappear and ran as well. As they ran, his heart almost stopped. He
saw Husk fall to the ground. He saw one of the creatures start to fly
towards her. He quickly ran down and blasted at the creature. He then
picked her up and she said, "Thank you, love."
If he could have smiled, he would have, but he responded {You're
welcome, luv.} He then ran with her in tow into the door, and Banshee
closed it. He looked around and saw that everyone was there.
He then heard Banshee say, "Well, we did better than I figured.
Looks like we have two hours for the last movie."
Jono was almost startled when Mojo appeared on the screen and
said, "I, too, am surprised. I was hoping at least one of you would
bite the dust. Well, you do have two hours for this last movie. I do
hope someone makes a mistake. I would like to have you do a few shows
for me." Soon the picture faded and the door openned. He wondered what
their last challange was.
***************************************
Jubilee looked on at the screen. It was the final movie that
Generation X would have to run through. She was scared now. No one
knew that Abcissa wasn't her. At least she didn't think nobody knew,
but if Rich had sent the message successfully, Penny would know. Maybe
they were waiting for the right moment. If so, it had better be soon.
She had noticed that Abcissa was still trying to sabotage the team. She
then heard Mojo shout, "I don't believe it. How can they manage to
survive these things? At least some of them should be dead. That Husk
girl should be dead."
That had unnerved Jubilee abit. She had seen how Jono risked his
life to save her, and how both survived. She then heard Rich say,
"Jubilee, what's happening?"
She took a quick glance at the screen that was receiving the
signal from Rich's eyes. It was still blurred, but not as bad as it had
been. She realized he must be trying to compensate for the loss of his
glasses. She then said, "Rich, they are about to enter the last movie.
I hope they make it through." She noticed that Rich nodded as the
screen appeared to move up and down. "I just hope they also find out
that Abcissa is a fake."
She almost yelped in surprise when Mojo said, "How are they going
to find out, unless they catch her. There is no way you can warn them."
She didn't want to say anything of what Rich had done. By the time they
took him away to put the cameras in his eyes, they had managed to get
all the info from his mind that they needed.
Jubilee just looked at Mojo. She didn't want to let Mojo know
that Rich had managed to inform the others in some way. She just said,
"How long do you think Abcissa can go without being caught?"
She didn't like the smile Mojo gave her. "With this last one,
hopefullly most of your friends will fall and be forced to stay here."
It scared her. What was Mojo planning, and what was he going to have
Abcissa do.
***************************************
Sean looked around the room, wondering where they were now. It
looked very futuristic, like a space station, but the a nearby window
told him they were on a planet. He looked at the scene and said, "Two
hours to figure our way out of this one." He told the student to stay
near the room. The last thing he wanted was them to be totally split
up. He turned to Emma and said, "Now all we have to do is find out what
movie we are in."
Emma looked out the window, and then at some of the other students
that were still in the room. He could tell that she was trying to keep
an eye, psychically, on the other students. She then said, "Sean, every
one of the movies we've seen in this deathtrap has been from Rich's
mind. Now, what movie do you think would hold the top spot?"
Sean almost gasped. He looked at Emma and said, "You don't
honestly think that we'd be in that movie." She nodded and he just
shook his head. "It can't be. Even Mojo wouldn't be that crazy."
Emma just said, "Mojo only cares about ratings. To him, that's
what all this is about. This will be the ultimate ratings getter."
He wanted to argue with her about it, but Darrett walked in with a
weapon and said, "Well, this looks like a sci-fi film judging by the
weapons. And we have a sealed door, with a monitor showing an automatic
gun on the other side."
He noticed as a few more students were holding similar weapons.
He didn't like the idea of the students holding guns, but they might be
their best defense now. Sean remembered seeing the movie not to long
ago, and remember alot about the creatures, but he still wasn't
convinced. He then heard Emma say, "Everyone, Penance has found
something."
He didn't want to know what Penance had found, but he knew they
all had to know. He turned to everyone and said, "Alright everyone,
let's go. We don't have all day." As the students all followed him and
Emma, he silently hoped it wasn't the movie they thought it was.
He felt his heart sink when they turned the corner and saw what
Penance saw. A room full of facehuggers, just like in Aliens, and
luckily, all were in tubes. He then heard Penance say, "I don't think
we have very long to get out of here." This was not going to be a good
scenario.
Abcissa looked on with the others as they saw what was before
them. She had to admit that Mojo had outdone himself. He must have
made it exactly like the movie. As she stood there, she heard Banshee
go, "How long do ye figure we have, Penance?"
She watch as the girl codenamed Penance lowered her head and said,
"Once those guns fire, not long. That will be the first attempt, then
the aliens will come through the ceiling. We have to find the vent that
leads to the way out."
Just then, she heard the mini-speaker in her ear say, "Abcissa,
are you listening?" She nodded, since she knew Mojo was watching. She
then heard him say, "Here's what you have to do. You are going to turn
off those guns. Then, you will get some of those Face Hugger's free.
You know that you will be in no danger." She nodded. She knew she was
in no danger, since Mojo had injected his nanobots into her. It's what
had allowed her to look closer to her replacements age.
After Mojo had quieted down, she heard Emma say, "Alright
everyone, look for that vent, and hurry. We have less than two hours to
save Skitz, and less than that until those guns start to fire." She
then watched as everybody went their seperate ways, but in small groups.
Just as she started to head for the guns, she noticed that Penance was
with Banshee and Emma.
She didn't know what they were talking about, but it had her a bit
concerned. She had to act fast. Like Banshee said, they didn't have
long until the guns started to fire, and she had to make sure they
didn't fire. She knew that if she succeeded, most, if not all, of
Generation X would die, and she would have fellow slaves. At least she
wouldn't have to suffer alone anymore, and she wouldn't have to worry
about being Mojo's focus, although he kept her close to him. When she
finally go to the guns, she check everything about them. She noticed a
camera screen near the one gun. She looked for a moment and saw
movement in the far distance, not close enough to set off the guns.
Judging by the rate of movement, she had about ten to fifteen minutes to
shut off the guns and free both of the face huggers. She quickly
punched in the command code to activate and deactivate the guns. She
smiled and said, "Now, this is one sabotage that won't fail." She
quickly ran to the room where she had seen the face huggers earlier.
As she looked over the creatures, she heard echoing through the
halls the student codenamed Blink saying, "Banshee, Darrett and I have
found the vent." It wouldn't matter. The aliens were almost at the
door, and ready to kill them all. She could at least carry one face
hugger to the rest of the group.
As she walked further into the room, she heard a sound she didn't
want to hear. It was the guns. She thought she had deactivated them.
As the guns continued to go off, she heard Banshee say, "Everyone to the
vent. We might not have much time to get out of here."
As she heard the rest of Generation X running, she quietly said,
"Damn, what went wrong? I shut those guns down."
She didn't expect an answer, but she almost jumped when she heard
one voice say, "You got caught, Abcissa." She turned to see Penance
looking at her, with two claws ready to strike. This was not a good
turn of events.
Yvette looked straight at the girl named Abcissa. This wasn't her
`sister', and she knew it. As the guns continued to roar to life, she
faced the sabatour and said, "Why, and when did this all start?"
She watched as Abcissa had grabbed a pipe. The girl looked at her
and said, "I replaced Jubilee the very night before. She thought I no
longer existed. Do you know how much I hate her? She escaped my
existance. She managed to break free, but I must constantly serve that
fat blob."
Penance had an idea of what that must be like. As she slowly
approached Abcissa, she said, "And how were you able to fully look like
Jubilee?" She had a hunch on how it was done, but didn't want to say
it.
Abcissa swung the pipe, and Yvette jumped back. "He put those
nanobots in me. That way, if my sabatoge was successful, I wouldn't be
at risk of death. " This made Yvette totally upset. She couldn't hold
back her anger anymore. She took a swipe at Abcissa, only to be sent
flying by a swing of the pipe. She flew right into the one container
and started a chain reaction. As she got up, Abcissa said, "See. I
already have the upperhand. You can't think straight with your husband
in trouble." She also noticed that one of the containers that had a
live facehugger in it was now open.
Abcissa appeared to be right. She noticed that Abcissa was
swinging again. She quickly rolled out of the way, and with the roll,
she sliced the pipe Abcissa was holding. She then saw Abcissa's grin.
She just changed things in Abcissa's favor. Abcissa rammed the pipe
down in her direction, but she quickly jumped out of the way. As she
backed away from Abcissa, she heard the guns stop. She turned and said,
"Abcissa, if we don't stop this, we will both be dead." She then
noticed something on the ceiling above Abcissa. It was the loose
facehugger. It was preparing to pounce, but not on her.
She heard Abcissa just laugh and say, "So we die, then Mojo will
put us in another show, and I'll use a pipe like this to impale you
again. I doubt you can survive that, especially over and over and over
again." She could see that Abcissa was getting some sort of perverse
pleasure out of this.
As Abcissa neared her, Yvette saw that the creature was ready to
pounce. She looked at her attacker and said, "Abcissa, you're forgeting
about one thing." She watched as the girl glanced up and the facehugger
came right now on her face. She watched as Abcissa tried to force the
thing off. She knew that it was hopeless, unless there were more people
there, but Abcissa would try to kill them all. She also noticed that
the guns were silent. She wanted to save Abcissa, but knew that Abcissa
wasn't her friend.
She did the only thing she felt was right. She turned and ran out
of the room. She had to save Skitz, her husband, and Jubilee, her
`sister'. When she reached the vent, she ran at full force, making her
way to the rest of the group. When she got there, she heard Synch ask,
"Where's Jubilee?'
She looked at her teammate and said, "Where she's been since this
started. Trapped at the end of this run with Rich. The one that was
with up was an imposter." She saw how upset everyone was.
It was then when Banshee said, "Well, we have about an hour to
reach then end of this and rescue them. I take it Abcissa is detained,
but not dead?"
Yvette looked at Banshee and said, "'Father,' she is not at risk.
Mojo had those nanobots in her already." She saw how her father looked
at her. She should have done more, but he knew that it would have been
hopeless.
***************************************
Mojo was moving around the room like he was running for his life.
"I don't believe it. How did they figure out Abcissa wasn't Jubilee.
She never tipped them off, unless..." Mojo turned to face Richard Cale
and said, "It was you." He watched as Rich smiled and nodded. "That's
it. You're dead. You've messed this up too much."
Just as he went to push the release button, he heard Spiral yell,
"The ratings are starting to drop." He stopped. He needed the ratings,
and killing the prize too soon would kill his ratings.
He turned to Spiral and said, "How much time until they get here?"
He watched as Spiral looked up at the screen and then at the console.
He didn't like how many times she looked between the two.
She then looked at him and said, "Less than 5 minutes. The aliens
are about 10 minutes behind them, and there is about 15 minutes still on
the clock. If we delay them, the rating might drop."
Before he could say anything, Mojo heard it. The door started to
crack and was blown open. If was Banshee's wail. He felt the force of
the scream push him back toward the pit. Last thing he wanted was to
fall into the pit with the plant. He would be at least three meals for
the plant. He tried to warn Banshee, as he yelled at the top of his
lungs, "You win. Come collect your prize."
He watched as the first throught the door was the girl codenamed
Penance. She scared him as she moved forward and said, "If you've hurt
my husband, or Jubilee, I will make you pay."
He continued to back up, forgeting where he was and said, "Spiral,
set them free and send them hommmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee." As he fell
backwards, he heard the plant move itself. He didn't want to end up in
the plant. He then realized he got his wish as he heard a crunch and
the plant was flattened beneath him.
Emma looked down into the pit that Mojo had backed up into. At
the bottom was a huge plant that had been crushed by his fall. She had
a good feeling about what it was, and that it would have been Skitz and
Jubilee that would have been dropped in there. She noticed then that
Spiral was working some controls. She was about to shout when Spiral
went, "As the game goes, you've won, and can collect your prizes."
Emma watched as two walkways extened to the holding devices. As
some of the students ran to help Skitz and Jubilee out, she and Sean
looked at Spiral and said, "You were going to transport us back to our
school." She watched as the six-armed being nodded.
Sean then said, "We want ye to change the destination. We're
heading to the X-Mansion." She noticed that Spiral looked perplexed by
this, but reluctantly did as she was told.
When the portal was created, she turned to the student and said,
"Everyone, get though, and when you get over there call for Hank." She
watched as all the students headed into the portal. She then turned to
Sprial and said, "And tell Mojo that if he ever abducts my students
again, his brain will be vacent." She expect Sean to object, but he
didn't. She then jump through the portal with Sean and it closed behind
them.
When she got up, she heard Hank say, "Emma, what's wrong? What
happened?"
She turned to Dr. McCoy and said, "We were just guests of Mojo,
and we think Richard might have had so extra treatment done to him. If
you can take care of it, we'd all apreciate it."
She watched as some of the students followed Hank as he took Rich
of to the X-Men's med center. As she waited, she head Sean say, "We
meant what ye said back there, about wiping his mind." He knew her too
well.
She just nodded and said, "We don't need him taking advantage of
us. Especially if he plans to tape our very moves through Richard."
She watched as he nodded.
Sean then said to her, "At least ye didn't do it then, but the
fact that we all survived is better than vengence or threats." She had
to agree on that. Sean then said to her, "But right now, the most
important thing is that Rich recovers. This might make his life very
different." She nodded and hoped all would be ok.
***************************************
When Abcissa openned her eyes, she saw Spiral standing to her
left. The look she gave her was not a good look. She then heard Spiral
say, "Mojo, Abcissa has awakened." She didn't like the tone in Spiral's
voice. It had almost a pleasing sadistic sound to it.
She watched as Mojo walked over to her. His spider legs were
moving odd, but she didn't know why. The nanobots had her out for some
time, keeping her alive as they remended her body after what the alien
did. When she finally sat up, she head Mojo say, "Good to see you
awake, Abcissa, your new show is about to start."
"New show..." The words caught her off guard, but then she noticed
her outfit. She was wearing a string bikini with a yellow cross right
at her shoulder. She looked over herself and said, "What is this?"
She saw Mojo smile and said, "Your wardrobe for your new show. I
had to do something since you failed to stop Generation X, and the only
thing I could do was merge some hit shows from Earth. Now you are
Abcissa, Warrior Beach Vampire Hunter. Now hurry on, you've got to make
you entrance. And do your best to make the ratings high, like running.
That should get every guy watching." She had no choice in the matter.
This was her new fate. Now, more than ever, she hated Jubilee.
***************************************
Grimore looked over at his masters as they entered the apartment.
Two days ago, Yvette came to him and told him that Rich had to say with
the X-Men for a few days. Now Rich was home, but not much for the
better. Both his eyes were bandaged. Grimore looked at him and said,
"Sir, what happened to you?"
He listened intently as Rich sat down on a chair Yvette had guided
him to and said, "A madman put camera's in my eyes, and Dr. McCoy
removed them. It will take time for my eyes to heal." Now he
understood why the bandages were there.
He quickly jumped onto Rich's lap and said, "Sir, I've been
worried about you." He purred as Rich started to pet him.
Rich just said, "I know, everyone has." Just then the phone rang.
Rich acted like he was looking at the phone, but said, "Yvette, luv, can
you answer that?" Grimore knew which of the two phones it was. It was
the private line that only the two friends knew.
After Yvette picked up, Grimore watched as she faced Rich and
said, "It's Cartier, Monet's father. He said he's coming here in a few
weeks to discuss something with you and the other member of the group."
Grimore knew of what happened with Monet. No one had told Cartier about
it yet.
Grimore looked at the two and said, "He must want to discuss about
who get's his title when he dies. Marius is too unstable."
He felt Rich pet him again and said, "Let me." He watched as Rich
took the phone and said, "Cartier, if you can get here in two weeks, I
will be here to talk about everything, and we have alot to talk about."
He listened as Rich hung up the phone and then said, "Grimore, is that
the only reason he's coming?"
Grimore shok his head and said, "No, he need to sort something out
with you, and it's a yearly tradition, to renew their bonds. It date's
back to the 900's." He watched as Rich nodded. The boy understood. He
got off Rich as Yvette helped him up. He watched as the two walked to
their bedroom. Apparently, Rich was feeling washed out. However, from
what Grimore had been told, this had taken a toll on all of Generaion X.
He never understood the facination with horror, since some of it was
real. He wondered how Rich and Yvette would cope after that night would
happen.
Until NeXt story...
